Topics - Harlan

Hello fellow Wintertrekkers! We're ready to go and have both patches and stickers available for purchase. Please note that all proceeds from patches and stickers will go towards the cost of keeping the site up and running as well as some software updates we have planned. We truly appreciate all the support we receive from our community!

Stickers - 4" x 2", vinyl and easy to peel off without residue. Cost is $4.50 each or you can purchase a sheet of 8 stickers for $30.00. If you wanted a full sheet, just use the toggle on the product page and select "sheet of 8".

We've just received some beautiful, 100% Canadian made fur hats and i wanted to offer them to our membership before we put them up for sale to the public. These hats are all manufactured in Canada with locally harvested Beaver, Otter, Muskrat and Grey Fox. We have sizes Medium, Large and X-Large available. If you're interested in one, please give us a call at 807-727-9797 and we'll go over the details. Visa and MasterCard or Interac E transfer. This is a one time deal! All hats are new with tags!

We've just received some beautiful, 100% Canadian made fur hats and i wanted to offer them to our membership before we put them up for sale to the public. These hats are all manufactured in Canada with locally harvested Beaver, Otter, Muskrat and Grey Fox. We have sizes Medium, Large and X-Large available. If you're interested in one, please give us a call at 807-727-9797 and we'll go over the details. Visa and MasterCard or Interac E transfer. This is a one time deal! All hats are new with tags!

We have 20 pairs of traditional wooden snowshoes with bindings for sale. These are all made by Faber and were brand new last year. All pairs were used lightly for a 1 week project so are essentially in new condition. They come complete with FREE Faber A3 Leather Work binding ($60 value). Below are the styles and sizes available. We accept Visa or MasterCard or Interac / paypal. Feel free to drop us a line at 807-727-9797 or e-mail solotrip@gmail.com or PM via this website. Thanks!

All these tents will be available as of March 1. They will only have a few trips on them and would be considered basically new. I can sell with or without stoves so please inquire if you do not want the package

Mid season sale on traditional snowshoes. I have 8 pairs for sale in all. All are brand new with labels still on and fresh from the Faber factory. Shipping within Canada is $25.00 via expresspost and includes tracking. PM me, email me or call 807-727-1969 and ask for Harlan

I had posted a few weeks ago that I secured some fresh Beaver pelts from a local trapper in town and was looking to try my hand at tanning them at home. Some here had asked that I document the process....today I began my project!

To begin, I purchased a commercially available home tanning product from Trans Canada Trapline Inc, also known as Fur Harvesters Auction out of North Bay, Ontario.

Very impressed with their quick delivery and price on the product. I paid $13 / bottle and purchased 2. They arrived within 5 days!

Here is what the product looks like.

It comes with specific direction on doing this at home, so I simply gathered the needed supplies and went right to it.

Step 1:

My Beaver had been on the drying hoop for a few weeks so it was fairly brittle. I needed to soften up the pelt before beginning so I filled a large Rubbermaid tub with water and placed me Beaver inside.

Using a stick, I worked the water through until it was fairly supple, but didn't leave it too long as per the directions. Total time, 20 minutes.

Step 2:

Then, I readied a box of table salt and some cord.

Step 3:

I removed my pelt from the water and wrang it out by folding it onto itself skin to skin..... This took a bit of time as I wanted to get as much water out as possible. Total time, 10 minutes

Step 4:

Laid the pelt skin down and began sprinkling with a generous amount of table sale.

Step 5:

Work the salt in really good. I ended up adding a lot more salt than I initially thought was needed. Total time, 10 minutes

Step 6:

Once worked in, the pelt was folded over on itself skin to skin and then rolled up nice and tight. Cord was tied around the entire pelt so everything is nice and tight.

Now we wait 24 hours, then repeat the salting process over again, scraping off the old salt and reapplying for another 24 hours.

That's it for now....I'll post the next steps in a few days once the salting process is complete!

In the Christmas spirit so here's a special deal for all WinterTrekking.com members!

Red Lake Outfitters is authorizing a Boxing Week Sale on all Faber Traditional Snowshoe models and bindings. All models are in stock and ready to ship. All shoes are full grain rawhide! Here's what's available.....

SnowshoesBearpaw - 12 x 30 - $144.99Bearpaw - 16 x 30 - $ 149.99

Ojibwa - 11 x 48 - $ 154.99Ojibwa - 12 x 60 - $164.99

Huron / Sport - 12 x 42 - $134.99Huron / Sport - 16 x 48 - $149.99

Bindings:A3 Work Binding - $46.99A2 Work Binding - $ 43.99

To place an order please PM or email me or call 807-728-0803 Visa, Mastercard or Paypal accepted. Sale will run until December 31....

I'm looking for some help here and hope the depth of this forums members can steer me in the right direction....

I was able to secure 2 fresh Beaver Pelts from a local trapper today in the hopes of eventually making some mitts and who knows what else?

One medium and one large pelt showed up at my shop today, hot off the drying rack. They will of course need to be tanned before I work with them and thus my need for help.

Does anyone know a good process for tanning a Beaver at home? They are also quite greasy at the moment so i'm sure i'll have to deal with that as well. I'd like to work on this myself and not send it away to Winnipeg to the professionals.

Here's what they look like tonight....hopefully in a month they will be mitts!

With some talk lately of the use of sand / false bottom in the bottom of portable woodstoves, I got the motivation to get off my butt and grab some materials for making the false bottom for my new Large Model Snowtrekker stove by Kni-Co.

I don't have access to the best of materials locally, but was able to source some 28 gauge Galvanized Steel (10 x 4 sheet), from a supplier, which I figured would work well for this small project.

As per HOOP's suggestion of it being easier to work with 2 smaller pieces rather than 1 large one, I measured out the length and width of the inner stove, then split it down the middle (although I added another 1/2" of material as I'll be bending the steel back).

Once I had the material cut I grabbed my pliers and began working the edges over. Now I'm no metal worker so I'm sure there's an easier and more accurate way to do this but i just had at 'er! Took about 10 minutes to complete the folding over of all edges on both pieces....again I'm no expert and didn't even use a vice. I simply held it in my hands (wear gloves) and worked on it.

Once all edges were bent I grabbed my file and went to work on all sharp edges....woke up the neighbours too!

Soon I was all done and ready to cure the Galvanized steel with it's first burn.

Again, I probably butchered this but it all worked out well. Both pieces have fit into the stove nicely and are now ready for my first trip in a Snowtrekker 10 x 13 Shortwall!